Improvement in ash-sifters



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM MGCONNELL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN ASH-SIFTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,174, dated December16, 1862.]

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M CGONNELL, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,have invented an Improved Ash-Sitter 5 and I do hereby de cla-rethefollowing` to be a full, clear, and eX- act description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters otreference marked thereon.

My invention consists of a box or hopper of any suitable form providedwith a lid, or its equivalent, and a sieve, the whole being so connectedto apermanentbracket, or its equivalent, as to be readily vibrated, andthe ashes placed on the sieve thereby thoroughly sifted.

My invention further consists in providing the lower end of the saidhopper with a eurtain of such dimensions as to inclose the mouth of thereceptacle for the waste ashes and prevent the dispersion of the dustwithout intertering with the free movement of the hopper.

In order to enable others to make and use my invention, I will nowproceed to describe its construction and operation.

On reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecication, Figure l is a vertical section of my improved ashsifter,and Fig. 2 is a side view of the same.

A is a boX or hopper, which, in the present instance, is square asviewed transversely, and made of wood, the hopper being furnished at thetop with a hinged lid, a, and at a suitable distance below the latterwith a sieve, b, consisting of a perforated plate, or of wire-nettinghaving meshes sutliciently large to allow unavailable ashes to passthrough the sieve, and yet so small as to prevent cinders serviceable asfuel from accompanying the ashes. The hopper A is hung near its lowerend to a bracket, B, in such a manner that it can vibrate freelythereon, the bracket being secured to such wall or fence, O, in the yardor cellar of a dwelling as may be found most convenient. The hopper islarger at its upper than at its lower end, and to the latter is secureda curtain, I), of suitable fabric, this curtain being of such dimensionsas to inclose the upper portion of abarrel, E, or other suitablereceptacle for the ashes. A pin, m, is driven into the wall at such apoint that the hopper can rest against it in the angular position shownin black lines, Fig. l, beyond which position the hopper cannot be movedin the direction of the arrow. It can be moved in the oppositedirectiomhowever, so far as to assume the position shown by red lines.

Although it is well known that cinders separated from ashes areavailable as fuel, and, although a variety of ash-sitters have beenproposed and patented, they have been very sparingly adopted for severalreasons, the most prominent of which are the liability to create such adust as to be an annoyance to the operator, the delay incurred inadjusting the parts, and abstracting the cinders after they have beensii'ted, and the fact that they are portable, and are consequentlyliableto become damaged in moving them about from place to place. My inventionhas been designed with the view of producing an etticient ashsifter, inthe use of which the above objections are obviated.

While the hopper' is in the position shown in Fig. 1, the lid a israised and the ashes and cinders are deposited in the receptacle abovethe sieve. The operator then closes the lid, grasps the handle m or thehandle m', and imparts a vibrating motion to the hopper.

A few rapid vibrations or agitations are all that is necessary to causethe waste ashes to pass lthrough the sieve, and thence into the barrel Eor other suitable receptacle.

While the curtain D presents no impediments to the free agitation of thehopper, it closes the mouth of the barrel so eectually as to preventthat dispersion of the finer particles of ashes and dust which are asource of much annoyance in operating other ash-sitters.

After the ashes have been separated from the cinders, the operator tiltsthe hopper over to the position shown by red lines, Fig. l, so as toallow the cinders to pass from the hopper into a coal-scuttle or othersuitable receptacle.

It will be observed that the barrel E is independent of the sifter,andcan be removed and replaced without disturbing the latter, which, beinghung to a permanent bracket secured to a wall or fence, remains in aposition always ready for use and free from that liability to be damagedto which portable sifters are subjected.

The operation of sifting the ashes from the cinders and the removal ofthe latter from the sifter require so little exertion compared with thatrequired in operating other ash-sifters,

that no domestic can object to practice the advisable economy of siftingashes when so simple and efficacious an apparatus is always ready, andin a convenient position for the purpose.

In place of the bracket B,a shaft may be secured to the hopper, and thisshaft hung to suitable bearings on the Wall or fence.

The hoppei` A may be made either of Wood, sheet-iron, or other suitablematerial, and either round, square, or of any other form which theconstructer may deem most appro priate.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Ahopper,A, of any suitable form,pro

vided with the lid a, or its equivalent, and sieve b, When the whole isso connected to a permanent bracket, B, or its equivalent, as to bereadily vibrated.

2. In combination with the vibrating hopper, a curtain, D,'of such shapeand dimensions as to inclose the mouth of the receptacle for the ashesWithout interfering with the free movement of the hopper.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses. Y Y WV. MCGONNELL. Titnesses W.ALBERT STEEL, JOHN WHITE.

